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Russia on Tuesday accused the West of ignoring its warnings about the growing terrorist threat in Syria, and claimed that the moderate rebel front – the one the Obama administration wants to arm as part of its anti-ISIS strategy – “no longer exists.”The remarks by Russia’s ambassador in Geneva Alexey Borodavkin came during a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which was discussing the most recent report by a U.N.-mandated independent commission of inquiry into the conflict.The report, released late last month and roughly covering the first half of this year, recorded atrocities by the Assad regime and by...

Explanation: It has been a good week for auroras. Earlier this month active sunspot region 2158 rotated into view and unleashed a series of flares and plasma ejections into the Solar System during its journey across the Sun's disk. In particular, a pair of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) impacted the Earth's magnetosphere toward the end of last week, creating the most intense geomagnetic storm so far this year. Although power outages were feared by some, the most dramatic effects of these impacting plasma clouds were auroras seen as far south as Wisconsin, USA. In the featured image taken last Friday...

... liberal activists believe Mainers with strong Democratic voting records are having second thoughts about Michaud because of ads highlighting his position on welfare for undocumented immigrants. The conference call, held Thursday, included nearly a dozen representatives of liberal non-profits and was organized by Maine Equal Justice Partners, a 501(c)3 non-profit that has been a relentless critic of the LePage administration. The stated goal of the call was to develop a response to the RGA’s television and radio ads.

After the governor of the state of Maine stepped up to the plate to go to bat for a little girl whose life was in peril, bureaucratic officials have backed off an attempt to end the life of a baby victimized by her own father.Last week, Gov. Paul LePage vowed to protect a little baby whose life is at stake and who state officials wanted to kill by putting a DNR order in place without her parents’ consent.Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in support of a mother pleading with the state...

A teenage mother is fighting a do-not-resuscitate order imposed over her objections on her brain-damaged daughter, saying she should be responsible for medical decisions. Child welfare officials who intervened after the baby was severely injured say life-saving measures in the event she stops breathing would only prolong her suffering. The mother, Virginia Trask, originally agreed to the do-not-resuscitate order. At one point, the infant was removed from life support and placed in her arms to die, then opened her eyes and began breathing. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine and Christian Civic League of Maine are joining the Alliance Defending...

On August 9 Gabby Giffords will "[try] to resurrect gun control" by appearing in Maine to raise money for gubernatorial candidate Mike Michaud (D). Michaud is currently the U.S. Rep. for Maine's 2nd District. According to the Associated Press, Michaud says he and Giffords formed a friendship as "conservative 'blue dog' Democrats" during their time together in Congress, and he stands with her in pushing for more gun control now in the area of background checks.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage is not thrilled with the way the NFL has handled the suspension of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, and said today on a radio show that he intends on boycotting the NFL and will be sending NFL Commissioner Roger Gooddell a letter criticizing the relatively light punishment Rice received for beating his fiancé unconscious. "They care so little about our women and our children that they’re going to hire these barbarians who go and hit their wives and their kids and they’re gonna get a slap on the hand? And some guy got a year...

- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com - Member Of Dem. Campaign Sent Vulgar And Sacrilegious Tweets Posted By Lauren Eissler On 3:48 PM 07/23/2014 [Ben Gagnon with Governors Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Peter Shulmin of Vermont and Congressman Michael Michaud of Maine at fundraising luncheon on the day before Gagnon was suspended for tweeting vulgar statements.] A team member of the Democrat’s nominee for governor of Maine tweeted a lot of sacrilegious and vulgar statements and was suspended for it. Maine Rep. Michael Michaud’s team member Ben Gagnon was suspended after tweeting sexist, expletive-laden statements. The tweets were taken down...

(CNN) – Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, indicated her support Wednesday for same-sex-marriage, becoming the fourth sitting Republican senator to do so. “A number of states, including my home state of Maine, have now legalized same-sex marriage, and I agree with that decision,” Collins said according to the Bangor Daily News in response to one of its reporter's questions. She joins Republican Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rob Portman of Ohio in expressing support for the marriage equality movement.

Portland and South Portland plan to defy the LePage administration and continue offering General Assistance to undocumented immigrants, the group at the center of Maine’s latest fight over welfare reform. The Department of Health and Human Services formally notified cities and towns Monday evening that the state will no longer reimburse them for General Assistance to undocumented immigrants and will begin auditing municipalities in October. The memo went out five days after the DHHS announced the policy change in a media release.In a sign of the discord ahead, officials from Portland, South Portland and Bangor said Tuesday that they will...

Remember these sixteen names when they run for office again. The sixteen Republicans who voted to proceed were Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Kelly Ayotte (N.H.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Susan Collins (Maine). Bob Corker (Tenn.), Jeff Flake (Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Dean Heller (Nev.), John Hoeven (N.D.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Mark Kirk (Ill.), John McCain (Ariz.), Pat Toomey (Pa.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.). List courtesy The Hill.com. As reported by RedState yesterday, this bill would allow doctors to add a person’s name to the national database currently used for background checks, and list them as...

The New York Times today reports on a disturbing development at Bowdoin College: For 40 years, evangelicals at Bowdoin College have gathered periodically to study the Bible together, to pray and to worship. They are a tiny minority on the liberal arts college campus, but they have been a part of the school’s community, gathering in the chapel, the dining center, the dorms. After this summer, the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship will no longer be recognized by the college. Already, the college has disabled the electronic key cards of the group’s longtime volunteer advisers. … The students, who plan to meet...

( full headline Landlord, 74, who 'shot dead two teenage tenants in dispute over parking cars' changes plea to not guilty by reason of insanity ) A Maine man charged with killing two teenagers in an apartment at his home is entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. James Pak, 75, entered his plea at a hearing in York County Superior Court in Alfred. Pak originally pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in March 2013. He is accused of killing 19-year-old Derrick Thompson and 18-year-old Alivia Welch in December 2012. Authorities say Pak fatally shot...

On the GOP side, Bruce Poliquin, a former state treasurer and pension fund manager, says he’s the only candidate in the race who is not a “career politician.” He points to his life story — including the tragic loss of his wife at a young age and his deep belief in his Roman Catholic faith — as the reason he can claim to be the only “pro-life” candidate in the race. Poliquin made an unsuccessful run for governor in 2010 and for the U.S. Senate in 2012. Poliquin’s primary opponent is former state Senate President Kevin Raye, a Republican from...

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According to a Senator who has been defending the administration's deal for Bowe Bergdahl, the 5 Taliban prisoners would have been freed sometime soon anyway, making this our last chance to get something for them. Senator Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said this at the end of his interview with CNN Thursday: There's one other very important point that needs to get out there. There is a reasonable legal argument that these five guys would have had to be released any way within the next year under the law of war. They were being held in Guantanamo...

The Maine Secession Movement is now actively inviting Born Again Christians to move to Maine from other states. As the secession vote on June 12, 2018 moves ever closer, the Maine secession Movement is now actively encouraging Born Again Christian families in other states to put their property and business up for sale and move to Maine. This is being done in advance of the next release of the proposed Constitution for the Republic of Maine which will take effect immediately upon a successful vote for secession on June 12, 2018. This next release will include a section detailing how...

Top White House officials have reportedly been holding private meetings with lawmakers this week to boost support for the president’s foreign policy strategy, although the outreach effort appears to have left some lawmakers confused and upset. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) described a meeting with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and National Security Adviser Susan Rice earlier this week as “one of the most bizarre I've attended on Foreign Relations on foreign policy in our country.” “I know several of us were involved in a very bizarre discussion last night. This continues a very bizarre discussion,” Corker added, according...

The Politically Correct narrative of the Boston Marathon bombing is sinking faster than Barack Obama’s poll numbers. Remember Tamerlan Tsarnaev, aka Speedbump. The Boston Globe tearfully informed its moonbat readers that Speedbump was “a stay-at-home dad.” When he died at the age of 25, Speedbump was a “person of interest” in seven murders in Massachusetts, so apparently the stay-at-home dad got out of his (Section 8) house every once in a while. Now we find out that his 9 mm came from a “Maine gang,” two words I never thought I’d type in the same sentence. But then, Vacationland has...

(CNN) -- Vermont's governor on Thursday signed a bill into law that will require the labeling of genetically modified foods -- hailing it as the first such law in the nation. Under the new law, food offered for retail sale that is entirely or partially produced with genetic engineering must be labeled as such by July 2016. "Vermonters take our food and how it is produced seriously, and we believe we have a right to know what's in the food we buy," said Gov. Peter Shumlin. "More than 60 countries have already restricted or labeled these foods, and now one...